The author believes that while emphasizing the cultural similarities between the two sides of the strait, their differences cannot be ignored.(Internet)
When people mention the cultural relationship between mainland China and Taiwan, the first words that come to mind may be the same language and same species, which means that the cultures on both sides of the strait are Chinese culture, and the people on both sides of the strait are ethnically Chinese.From a historical and macro perspective, there is nothing wrong with saying that the two sides of the strait have the same language and the same race.However, if we carefully study the meaning of culture, especially considering the realities of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the theory of the same language and the same species will be suspected of carelessness.
Culture is a concept with rich connotations and thus different opinions.Ji Xianlin, a master of Chinese studies of a generation, once verified that there are more than 500 definitions of culture in the world, and there is no authoritative definition.Since the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese intellectuals have divided culture into three levels: utensils, institutions, and concepts, and believed that concepts are the core, institutions are the support, and utensils are the representations.American scholar Taylor believes that culture refers to such a complex: it includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morality, customs, and all other abilities and habits acquired by a person as a member of society.Simply put, culture is the way of being of people or groups of people as a society.
The existence and operation of human society requires the support of political structure, economic system, clothing, food, housing and transportation, etc., then the values, organizational rules, behavior patterns, utensils and utensils and other elements expressed at these levels can constitute culture in the mesoscopic or microscopic sense., such as political culture, social culture, corporate culture, food culture, etc.Relatively variable elements such as language, customs, and social psychology belong to the superficial part of culture.Relatively stable elements such as values, institutional systems, and historical inheritance belong to the deep part of culture.In the same cultural system, the superficial culture is determined by the deep culture and reflects the characteristics of the deep culture to varying degrees.
Differences and divisions between different cultures are both normal and inevitable.Even within the same cultural community, there will be different sub-regional cultures or subcultures.For example, within the scope of Chinese culture, there are also subcultures such as Central Plains culture, Jiangnan culture, Lingnan culture, Taiwanese culture, Hakka culture, and Tibetan culture.
If we further divide culture in a broad sense into political culture and social culture according to the distance from the core of state power, we will find that there are different degrees of cultural differences and even conflicts on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
At the political and cultural level, the mainland has established a socialist political system with Chinese characteristics characterized by the overall leadership of the Communist Party of China.At the beginning of its establishment, this system was mainly modeled on the political system of the Soviet Union. After the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations, it has more and more Chinese characteristics. At the same time, it also bears the imprint of traditional Chinese political culture in some aspects.Since 1949, Taiwan’s political culture has undergone a tortuous and complicated process of change, which combines traditional Chinese political culture, Japanese political culture, and European and American political culture. At present, it is mainly reflected in general elections, multi-party competition, and separation of powers..
There are also significant differences in the understanding of political values such as democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law by mainstream (or official-dominated) ideologies on both sides of the Strait.In terms of cross-strait relations, the political and cultural differences between the two sides are prominently manifested in political antagonism in terms of national identity and system choice.We can even say that the differences and conflicts of political culture are the core part of the cultural differences and conflicts between the two sides of the strait.
On the social and cultural level, the differences between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are prominently manifested in the social management system, the behavior patterns of the people, and especially the cultural literacy, etc. These differences can sometimes intensify into conflicts.
A major feature of the mainland's social management system is the top-down management model under the leadership of the ruling party.Although there are many social organizations in mainland society, they all accept the leadership of the party directly or indirectly.In Taiwan, the model of social autonomy has gradually taken shape, and the threshold for establishing various social organizations is very low, resulting in the existence of a large number of civil society organizations in Taiwan, most of which have achieved a high degree of autonomy.
In terms of people's civilized quality, most mainland people who have been to Taiwan will express their appreciation for the public civilized quality of Taiwanese people, but mainland people are often criticized in this regard, so that many unpleasant incidents have occurred after a large number of mainland tourists went to Taiwan.The occurrence and hype of these incidents are actually manifestations of social and cultural differences and conflicts between the two sides of the strait.
When we emphasize that the two sides of the strait share the same language, the same species, and belong to the same Chinese culture, we are actually just saying that their origins are all Chinese culture.Due to the division and confrontation between the two sides of the strait, traditional Chinese culture experienced different fates on both sides of the strait.The current mainland culture is based on Chinese culture, has absorbed the multiculturalism of foreign cultures such as Soviet Russia, Europe, the United States, and Japan, and has experienced the baptism of major events such as the Cultural Revolution and reform and opening up.
Today's Taiwanese culture is also based on Chinese culture. It has successively absorbed the diverse cultures of foreign cultures such as the Netherlands, Japan, and the United States, and has experienced cultural renaissance, localization, democratization, and de-sinicization.That is to say, even if it is also based on Chinese culture, there are obvious differences in the subjective cognition, specific policies, reservation and transformation of Chinese culture between the two sides of the strait for decades.
From this point of view, while emphasizing the cultural similarities between the two sides of the strait, their differences cannot be ignored.Under certain conditions, cultural differences will involve standards of right and wrong in a series of large and small matters. If they cannot be handled well, it will inevitably lead to conflicts on a wider scale or at a higher level.
In recent years, the mainland has proposed to realize the harmony of people on both sides of the strait. The author's understanding is to try to break the barriers of cultural differences between the two sides of the strait, enhance mutual understanding and tolerance through mutual exchanges, and achieve cultural and human connection.The proposal of the concept of cross-strait integration and development is more like a practical path designed for spiritual harmony.It's just that its final effect remains to be tested by history.
The author is deputy director and associate professor of Taiwan Studies Center of Shanghai Jiaotong University
